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Munich Re to buy US insurer HSB Group

German reinsurance group Munich Re on Monday said it has agreed to buy the specialty insurer HSB Group from troubled US giant AIG for $742 million (€531 million).

Published: 22 December 2008 10:01 CET

Munich Re to buy US insurer HSB Group

Photo: DPA

It planned to fund the acquisition “entirely from existing resources,” Munich Re said in a statement.

HSB’s core activity is the insurance and inspection of engineering risks in the United States, and in 2007 the company posted an after-tax profit of $158 million, it added. The all-cash deal is subject to regulatory approval, “which is expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2009,” Munich Re said.

Munich Re has already acquired a number of profitable US insurance groups, among them The Midland Company in October 2007 for $1.3 billion and health-care insurer Sterling Life Insurance for $352 million in December 2007.

On Monday, Munich Re shares gained 0.33 percent to €106.72 in early Frankfurt trading, while the DAX index of leading shares was off by 1.0 percent overall.

“It shows there aren’t only losers in the financial crisis,” Dow Jones Newswires quoted a trader as saying.

American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurer before the global credit crisis, was on the brink of collapse when the US government offered an $85-billion lifeline and took a stake in the firm in mid-September, at the time the biggest corporate bailout in history.

The government rescue, which has since ballooned to $152 billion, requires that AIG sell off assets in exchange for the loan.

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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